The site known today as NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center is rich in its history in space exploration.

The site was established to test engines for America's first journeys to the moon aboard the Apollo Program's spacecraft. The facility was renamed in 1988 for Mississippi Sen. John C. Stennis, who championed its construction in his home state. Now the Nation's largest rocket engine testing facility. Stennis tests all the main engines for the space shuttle and will test the engines for NASA's Constellation program, the nation's plan to send humans back to the moon and possibly beyond.

NASA's Space Center is a unique federal city that is home to more than 30 federal , state, academic and private organizations and numerous technology-based companies. Its resident agencies include: National Aeronautics and Space administration, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Departmant of Commerce, Department of the Interior, and Enviromental Protection Agency.